Want a different day?
A new NYT Connections puzzle appears every day at midnight for your time zone – which means some people are still playing “today’s game” while others are playing “yesterday’s.” If you are looking for the Monday puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections Tips and Answers for Monday, February 23 (Thu #988).
Good morning! Let’s play Connections, the clever word game from the New York Times that challenges you to group answers into different categories. This can be difficult, so read on if you need tips on connections.
SPOILER WARNING: The information on NYT Connections today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.
NYT Connections today (game #989) – words of the day
Today’s NYT Connections words are…
- COWARD
- LASER
- SCOTTIE
- BONE
- JIM
- CORAL
- BALANCE
- CHEKHOV
- THISTLE
- CHAW
- SHELLS
- TRACTOR
- TARTAN
- TEETH
- MILLER
- BAGS
NYT Connections today (game #989) – clue #1 – group clues
What are the clues for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Formed from common white minerals
- GREEN: Icons of the nation wearing the kilt
- BLUE: Notable playwrights
- PURPLE: Add a word that rhymes with “diagram”
Need more clues?
We’re firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four themed answers are for today’s NYT Connections riddles…
NYT Connections today (game #989) – clue #2 – group answers
What are the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: CALCIUM-BASED STRUCTURES
- GREEN: SYMBOLS OF SCOTLAND
- BLUE: Famous playwrights
- PURPLE: _____ BEAM
That’s right, the answers are below, so DON’T SCROLL FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #989) – the answers
The answers to today’s Connections game #989 are…
- YELLOW: CALCIUM-BASED STRUCTURES BONES, CORAL, SHELLS, TEETH
- GREEN: SYMBOLS OF SCOTLAND BAGS, SCOTTIE, TARTAN, THISTLE
- BLUE: Famous playwrights CHEKHOV, COWARD, MILLER, SHAW
- PURPLE: _____ BEAM SCALE, JIM, LASER, TRACTOR
- My rating: Hard
- My rating: 1 error
I once went to an event at Jack Daniel’s Distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee and mischievously asked the bartender for a double JIM BEAM. The bartender fixed me with a nasty look and said, “We don’t say that name here,” leaving me in no doubt that I had crossed the line.
Despite my fondness for Jim’s bourbon, I still haven’t managed to see today’s purple group and I also failed in my attempt to finish FAMOUS Playwrights, stupidly putting THISTLE instead of COWARD.
This mistake pointed me towards the much more obvious SYMBOLS OF SCOTLAND which, much like yesterday’s group of cone shapes – which included a ‘cone’ tile – included the word SCOTTIE after the eponymous dogs, all in an attempt to create a shadow group of classic Star Trek characters (JIM, CHECKHOV, BONES) that I thankfully didn’t see until the end of the game.
Answers from yesterday’s NYT Connections (Monday Feb 23, Thu #988)
- PURPLE: SETTINGS FOR A KISS PIERRE DE BLARNEY, Mistletoe, NEW YEAR’S EVE, WEDDING
- BLUE: INSTALLATION BLUFF, FOREHEAD, MASCARADE, POSTURE
- YELLOW: Eating voraciously BOLT, THROAT, INSPIRE, SCARF
- GREEN: CONICAL THINGS CHRISTMAS TREE, CONE, PARTY HAT, VOLCANO
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games created by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four elements that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow is a little more difficult, blue is often quite difficult, and purple is usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you technically don’t need to solve the final question, as you will be able to answer it through a process of elimination. Additionally, you can make up to four mistakes, giving you some breathing room.
However, it’s a bit more complex than something like Wordle, and the game provides plenty of opportunities to trip you up with tricks. For example, watch out for homophones and other puns that could obscure the answers.
It is playable for free via the NYT Games website on computer or mobile.
